Even after a few days had passed, Shin's eyes were still hurting from having projectiles launched directly into them. Could those things even be called hair ties? They had flung so quickly and hit him so hard that he wouldn't have been surprised if they were rubber bands. On a similar note, his voice was still a little hoarse from screaming his lungs out in fear when Q-Taro had abducted him, something which Shin wished he could forget but feared it would haunt him in his dreams until the day he died.

Unfortunately for him, he was very confident that his boss (His real boss, not Kai.) wouldn't accept emotional trauma as a valid reason to take a day off. Maybe he could get away with injury- but if two hair ties to the eyes were enough to make him stay home, then he'd probably just get laughed at by both his real boss and his friends.

Speaking of his friends, he had no clue why he hadn't blocked all of them yet. It was especially tempting when Keiji went and blabbed about what happened during his visit, yet for some strange reason he couldn't bring himself to abandon them. After all, somebody had to take care of the discord server, and saying they all sucked horribly at management would be a severe understatement.

That was all there was to it- his only reason for not leaving them. Nothing else. Just that.

Shin was snapped out of his inner monologue by the bell, its familiar chime sending goosebumps all over his skin and making the hair on his arms stand on edge with fear. It was a little amazing and pathetic at the same time how it only took two visits from his friends for him to be conditioned just like one of Pavlov's dogs. Drumming his fingers on the counter, he silently assured himself that whoever came through that door would not be one of his friends but just a regular person passing by.

"Hiya Shin, meow!"

Shin's heart dropped down his stomach and out of his ass. His inner monologue from earlier flew out the very same door his newest tormentor had just entered, donned in an unmistakable orange cat cape and carrying with him a harbinger of doom in the shape of an adorable cushion. "Gin!" He hissed, gripping the counter tightly as he felt himself go lightheaded. "I thought I could trust you!"

"What are you talking about, woof?" Gin asked, tilting his head in confusion. "You're as weird as ever, loner, nya! Anyways, do you know where the juice boxes are, woof?"

Shin felt his throat dry up. A part of him was incredibly unwilling to trust anyone from the server after what the other guys had pulled; but this was just a child- even if he was planning anything, surely it wouldn't be too bad, right...? Reluctantly, Shin forced a smile, swallowing up all the doubts he had swarming in his mind. "Yeah, it's down the fifth aisle right over there," With a shaky hand, he pointed in the direction of the juice boxes.

"Thanks, meow!" Gin chirped. Although he was wearing a mask, Shin could see his eyes squint as if he were smiling. "By the way, you look super weird when you smile like that, woof!"

"You little-!" Before he could get another word out, Gin had already turned tail and skipped towards the juice boxes, humming a little tune to himself that Shin could hear even after he disappeared out of sight. The cashier sighed loudly, his shoulders slouching in defeat as he rubbed his temple. He was going to drive himself mad with how superstitious he was being. Gin was one of the nicer people from the server, too. Quickly glancing out the window, he didn't see anyone else he knew waiting outside. Maybe just this once he could let his guard down.

"Hey, Loner, meow!" Shin turned his head away from the window at the voice, watching as Gin waddled up to the checkout. "I got a snack while I was at it too, arf!" He exclaimed, setting the juice box and the snack on the counter.

Shin had to hold back a chuckle- Gin's chin (alongside the top of Mew-Chan's head) was just barely over the counter, and it looked just a tad bit ridiculous paired with how commanding his words were. "Is that all you'll be getting?" He asked, clearing his throat.

Gin nodded enthusiastically, shifting Mew-Chan to one hand and giving Shin a thumbs up with his other hand. "You bet, meow! I'm a big boy, so I'm paying for this with my own allowance, woof!"

For the first time in a while, Shin genuinely smiled. "That's nice of you, but, uh, now that you mention it..." His voice trailed off as he glanced around the store. "Where is your mom?" He asked.

"Being a big boy is more than just using my own money, mrrow!" Gin exclaimed, giving Mew-Chan a tight squeeze. "I told my mom that I'd take care of everything, so she's outside waiting for me in the car, woof!"

"You're really growing up, huh, Gin?" Shin inquired, picking up the items set on the counter and scanning them. "That'll be 500 yen,"

"Perfect, meow!" Gin chirped, setting Mew-Chan down on the counter as well. "Now, I have to entrust Mew-Chan to you in order to get the money out of my pocket, so you better keep a close eye on them, arf!"

Shin chuckled softly, giving Mew-Chan a light pat on the head. "Alright, I'll make sure Mew-Chan doesn't go anywhere." He assured the boy, watching as he rummaged through his pockets. A few moments later, he watched in confusion as Gin pulled out a comically large sack from his pockets. How did that even fit in his pockets? Surely it would've stuck out at least a little, no?

"These pockets can be deceptive, meow!" Gin answered, almost as if he could read his mind. "That's what I like about them, woof! Never let the enemy know what tricks you're hiding up your sleeve... or in your pockets, meow!"

"And... what exactly is in that sack?"

"The money, woof!"

Before Shin had a chance to register what Gin had said, the boy had pulled on the string that bound the sack together, turning it upside down and unloading its contents directly onto the countertop. More coins than Shin could count came crashing down, creating a cacophony of clinks and chinks as they rolled all around- some of the coins colliding with one another while others rolled right off the counter and directly onto Shin's feet- bouncing off his shoes and onto the floor with a clatter.

"...What is this?" Shin asked, slowly kneeling down to the floor and picking up the few coins that fell to the floor. Upon closer inspection, they were all one yen coins.

Gin gave him a peculiar look. "How hard did those hair ties hit your eyes, meow?" Shin shot a glare at Gin, to which the latter just ignored in favor of picking up Mew-Chan from off the counter. "It's 500 yen on the dot, woof! ...At least, I think it is, meow..." He mumbled, his eyes glancing down. He quickly swooped down to the floor, picking up a few coins that rolled off the counter and setting them back alongside the rest. "There, woof! Now that should be it, meow!"

"Are... are you telling me there's... five hundred coins in this pile...?" Shin sputtered, color draining from his face as a realization slowly dawned on him.

"Nope, woof! There's a 5 yen coin somewhere in there, so I guess that'd make it... four hundred and ninety six coins, meow? Good luck finding it, woof!"

Shin felt his legs start to tremble. "Four hundred and ninety six coins..." He muttered, his soul leaving his body. "I have to count... four hundred and ninety six coins..."

"I counted earlier, meow!" Shin tore his eyes away from the coin pile to glance at Gin. He looked so proud as he made his declaration that he couldn't even tell if he was doing this just to mess with him or if he was being genuine. "But so many coins rolled away, so who knows, woof?"

Shin looked down at the floor. There didn't seem to be any coins left on the floor, meaning...

"There's only one way to find out, meow!"

As much as Shin didn't want to face the reality- Gin was absolutely right.

"Get to work, bottom boy, woof!"

"Who taught you that?!" Shin cried out, to which Gin only chuckled. Oh, if only he could understand just how absolutely thrilled Shin was feeling right now. Begrudgingly, Shin picked up a coin and started counting away. "One... Two... Three..."

Shin could feel his sanity slowly wane and fade away with each coin he counted. From his peripheral, he could see Gin swaying around, fidgeting with his gloves as he waited patiently. Never in his life had he felt so conflicted- his head wanted nothing more than to punt the child and his coins out of his sight, but his heart insisted that Gin was just trying to be a good kid for his mother, and only someone downright crazy could be mad at someone so sweet.

But Shin was now one hundred coins in, and there was now doubt that he was starting to drive himself crazy with sheer frustration.

"Wow, you're slow, meow!"

It seemed as if he wasn't the only one starting to grow tired.

"Now, now," Shin hissed through gritted teeth. "I have to be absolutely sure the amount is right, okay? So it might take a little bit of time..." Now, where was he again? 137, right?

...Wait, didn't he just count that one? No, he was fairly sure the last one was 136... Or was it?

"NO!" Shin yelled out in dismay, running his hands through his hair. Why'd he have to go and lose count already? He had just barely started!

"What's wrong, loner, woof?" Gin tilted his head to the side, giving the cashier an inquisitive look. "...Did you lose count, meow?" There was a twinge of guilt in his voice.

After a moment's hesitation, Shin sighed, nodding his head. "Yeah..."

"I'm sorry, woof..." Gin mumbled, lowering his head down in shame.

"No, no, it's alright." It actually wasn't. But of course, he wasn't about to snap at an elementary schooler- especially not when there were other people in line behind him. "It wasn't your fault." It actually was. "You don't have to apologize."

"I know, meow!" Gin's head suddenly shot up, his green eyes glittering with enthusiasm. "I'll help you count, woof!"

"Oh, uh-"

Before Shin could protest, Gin beat him to the punch. "It'll be faster if we have multiple people counting, meow!" He interjected. "I'll recruit some other people, woof!" In an instant, Gin twirled on his heel, pointing his gloved hand toward the person in line behind him. "Hey, Suit-n-Specs, meow! Come help us count these coins, woof!"

"H-huh?!" The new victim appeared to be just a regular office worker, true to his nickname with a neat suit and a pair of grey glasses. "W-why me...?"

"Because I said so, meow!" Gin hopped over to the office worker, grabbing onto his suit sleeve and dragging him towards the counter. Shin honestly felt a little pity for the guy- it'd be pretty humiliating to get dragged so easily by a twelve year old. "Shin, I got us some more help, woof!" Gin announced. "This guy looks like he's good with numbers, meow!"

"Ah, I, uh, guess you could say that?" He chuckled awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck in what appeared to be a nervous habit.

"Let's get counting, woof!" Gin shoved both of his hands into the hefty pile of coins, taking a large handful and pulling it towards him. With no other choice, the other two guys took their own piles and followed suit, counting the coins as fast as he could.

Shin had never felt so, for lack of a better word, pathetic in his entire life. Sure, he wasn't exactly the coolest person out there, but being held hostage alongside another adult to none other than an elementary schooler had to be a new low for him. To put icing on the cake, from where he was standing, Shin could see the piercing stares from other onlookers just beyond the other two people counting alongside him. With trembling hands he counted as fast as he could while still maintaining as much accuracy as possible.

"I counted 137 coins, meow!" Gin was the first to finish.

"Ah, I counted 184 coins," The office worker finished not long after. "But there was a five yen coin in the mix, so I guess that'd make for 188 yen," he added, holding up the five yen coin.

"And I have 175 coins!" Shin exclaimed. "So that makes..."

Shin and Gin both turned their expectant gazes to the poor office worker. "H-huh? Oh, uh... 137, 188, and 175... That's a total of..." He rubbed his chin in thought. "Five hundred yen."

"YES!" Shin yelled, opening the cash compartment to the register and immediately scooping up all the one yen coins from the counter and into the drawer. He snatched the five yen coin from the office worker's hand, tossing it into the proper compartment and slamming it shut. He never wanted to see another coin in his life again.

"We did it, woof!" Gin cheered, grabbing his juice box and his snack from off the counter.

Their celebration was incredibly short-lived, however, put to an abrupt end by the sound of the doorbell followed immediately by a worried voice. "Gin?!"

"Mom!" Gin called out, turning around to face the entrance. "Over here!"

Rushing over to the counter was a woman clad in a blazer in a skirt, with long brown hair and a frantic gaze. "Gin!" She sighed in relief, rushing up to her son and kneeling down to hug him. "Are you alright?"

Gin returned the hug, purring happily. "I did it, Mom, woof!" He pulled away from the hug, showing her the items he bought. "I bought my own food using my own money, meow!"

"Honey, that's wonderful," His mom smiled, the worried tone ebbing away from her voice in favor of a more cheerful tone.

"I did run into a bit of trouble, though, woof... So I got help from these two, meow!" Gin gestured behind him to Shin and the random office worker, both of which waved semi-awkwardly.

Gin's Mom stood up straight, approaching the two men. "Thank you both so much for helping out my son," She bowed her head briefly, before holding out her hand. "I'm Gin's mom, and I'm so sorry if my son caused you any trouble."

Being the closest one to her, the office worker returned her handshake. "I-It's no problem, really." He stuttered out. "I'm Shunsuke Hayasaka."

Gin's mom smiled warmly. "It was nice meeting you, Hayasaka." Great, so Shin was just getting ignored. Fine by him, he didn't mind sitting back and watching straight people interact- it was always entertaining to watch. "Gin and I have to get going now. Again, thank you so much for helping him!"

"Yeah, woof! Thanks, Suit-n-Specs, meow! Thanks, loner, woof!" Stuffing his items into his cloak's pocket, Gin grabbed onto his Mom's open hand. Waving goodbye one final time, the two left the store.

Shin turned his attention to Hayasaka, who was still staring at the direction the two had left in. "So, hot mom, huh?" He asked, covering his mouth with his hand as he chuckled.

"Huh?!" Hayasaka whipped his head back around to Shin, his face heating up. "I-I would never think that!" He stammered, placing his own items down on the counter.

"Yeah, sure," Shin hummed, scanning the items. "Your total is 500 yen. And, I'd greatly appreciate it if you didn't pay in five hundred coins."

Word Count: ~2.7k

Author's Note: I genuinely cannot remember where I got Gin's Mom x Hayasaka from but the fact that Hayasaka could actually say your mom jokes to Gin makes it a top tier ship instantly. We're ignoring the fact that she has a husband. Sorry this chapter came out so late, too! I kept getting caught up in stuff during the day, whoopsie!